Sallis Leads Deacs in All-ACC Preseason Awards
10/15/2024 5:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Wake Forest was picked to finish third in the league for the 2024-25 season.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - For the first time since the 2005-06 season, Wake Forest has been voted to finish in the top three in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings in addition to having a preseason All-ACC player selected.
The Deacs received 800 points and one first place vote, predicted to finish behind league powerhouses Duke and North Carolina. In addition to being selected to the All-ACC First Team, Hunter Sallis also received three Player of the Year votes.
The last time Wake Forest was predicted to finish in the top three with a preseason All-ACC player was October 2005, ahead of the 2005-06 season. The Deacs were predicted to finish third with Justin Gray earning a nod on the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Sallis finished the 2023-24 season earning All-ACC First Team honors after a breakout year in the league, being named the Associated Press ACC Newcomer of the Year. That marked the first time since 2003, 2004 and 2005 that Wake Forest had a First Team honoree for three-straight years. Sallis, Tyree Appleby and Alondes Williams joined the likes of Josh Howard ('03), Justin Gray ('04) and Chris Paul ('05).
The Omaha, Nebraska native led the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from behind the arc and 78.3 percent from the line, scoring double digits in points in all but one of his 34 games in a Wake Forest uniform. Sallis was the second-leading scorer in the ACC during league play, sporting an average of 18.5 points per conference contest.
He had 15 games of 20 or more points including a career-best 33 points in a home win over ACC Tournament Champions and Final Four participant NC State, shooting 12-of-17 from the field and 4-of-6 from three.
Coming up clutch against some of the nation's best was a theme throughout the year for Sallis, posting a game-high 29 points against No. 8 Duke on an exceptional 84.6 field goal percentage (11-of-13 FG), adding six rebounds and five three-pointers made. Earlier in the year, Sallis finished with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists in a win over Florida in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Against another eventual NCAA Tournament team, Sallis impressed with a standout, two-way performance of 21 points (8-of-13 FGs, 5-8 3FGs) and nine rebounds as the Deacs claimed victory over Virginia.
Last season, the Deacs defeated five teams that reached the NCAA Tournament including three wins over Elite Eight teams and a win over a Final Four team.
The starting trio of Sallis, Cameron Hildreth and Efton Reid provided an exciting environment for Deacon Nation all year long. Wake Forest saw a resurgence in season attendance numbers this season with 164,931 fans packing Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This marked the highest total attendance since the 2014-15 season when Wake Forest hosted 174,336 fans during the 2014-15 season.
For the first time since 1995-97, Wake Forest has finished with 10 or more ACC wins in three consecutive seasons. Additionally, the 34 ACC wins during that three-year period marked the most since the 2003-05 run and when the Deacons had 35 ACC wins.
Additionally with the win against Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament, Wake Forest reached the 20-win mark for the second time in the last three years. The 65 wins over the last three seasons mark the most wins in a three-year stretch since the 2002-03 to 2004-05 run.
The Deacs hold an impressive 48-7 record at home since the start of the 2021-22 season including a 17-2 mark last season, the best since having the most home wins in program history during the 2021-22 season when Wake Forest finished with a mark of 18-2.
Additionally, it is the first time since the 2008-09 season that Wake Forest has had one or fewer losses at LJVM Coliseum. The Deacs' overall wins since the start of the 2021-22 season rank second in the country and lead the ACC during that time frame.
2024-25 Preseason ACC Poll
School, Points
1. Duke (42), 956
2. North Carolina (11), 924
3. Wake Forest (1), 800
4. Clemson, 765
5. Virginia, 743
6. Miami, 659
7. Pitt, 636
8. NC State, 550
9. Louisville, 518
10. Notre Dame, 462
11. Syracuse, 454
12. Georgia Tech, 433
13. SMU, 344
14. Virginia Tech, 252
15. Florida State, 251
16. California, 206
17. Stanford, 165
18. Boston College, 116
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1
Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41
Nijel Pack, Miami, 37
Second Team
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20
The Deacs received 800 points and one first place vote, predicted to finish behind league powerhouses Duke and North Carolina. In addition to being selected to the All-ACC First Team, Hunter Sallis also received three Player of the Year votes.
The last time Wake Forest was predicted to finish in the top three with a preseason All-ACC player was October 2005, ahead of the 2005-06 season. The Deacs were predicted to finish third with Justin Gray earning a nod on the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Sallis finished the 2023-24 season earning All-ACC First Team honors after a breakout year in the league, being named the Associated Press ACC Newcomer of the Year. That marked the first time since 2003, 2004 and 2005 that Wake Forest had a First Team honoree for three-straight years. Sallis, Tyree Appleby and Alondes Williams joined the likes of Josh Howard ('03), Justin Gray ('04) and Chris Paul ('05).
The Omaha, Nebraska native led the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from behind the arc and 78.3 percent from the line, scoring double digits in points in all but one of his 34 games in a Wake Forest uniform. Sallis was the second-leading scorer in the ACC during league play, sporting an average of 18.5 points per conference contest.
He had 15 games of 20 or more points including a career-best 33 points in a home win over ACC Tournament Champions and Final Four participant NC State, shooting 12-of-17 from the field and 4-of-6 from three.
Coming up clutch against some of the nation's best was a theme throughout the year for Sallis, posting a game-high 29 points against No. 8 Duke on an exceptional 84.6 field goal percentage (11-of-13 FG), adding six rebounds and five three-pointers made. Earlier in the year, Sallis finished with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists in a win over Florida in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Against another eventual NCAA Tournament team, Sallis impressed with a standout, two-way performance of 21 points (8-of-13 FGs, 5-8 3FGs) and nine rebounds as the Deacs claimed victory over Virginia.
Last season, the Deacs defeated five teams that reached the NCAA Tournament including three wins over Elite Eight teams and a win over a Final Four team.
The starting trio of Sallis, Cameron Hildreth and Efton Reid provided an exciting environment for Deacon Nation all year long. Wake Forest saw a resurgence in season attendance numbers this season with 164,931 fans packing Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This marked the highest total attendance since the 2014-15 season when Wake Forest hosted 174,336 fans during the 2014-15 season.
For the first time since 1995-97, Wake Forest has finished with 10 or more ACC wins in three consecutive seasons. Additionally, the 34 ACC wins during that three-year period marked the most since the 2003-05 run and when the Deacons had 35 ACC wins.
Additionally with the win against Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament, Wake Forest reached the 20-win mark for the second time in the last three years. The 65 wins over the last three seasons mark the most wins in a three-year stretch since the 2002-03 to 2004-05 run.
The Deacs hold an impressive 48-7 record at home since the start of the 2021-22 season including a 17-2 mark last season, the best since having the most home wins in program history during the 2021-22 season when Wake Forest finished with a mark of 18-2.
Additionally, it is the first time since the 2008-09 season that Wake Forest has had one or fewer losses at LJVM Coliseum. The Deacs' overall wins since the start of the 2021-22 season rank second in the country and lead the ACC during that time frame.
2024-25 Preseason ACC Poll
School, Points
1. Duke (42), 956
2. North Carolina (11), 924
3. Wake Forest (1), 800
4. Clemson, 765
5. Virginia, 743
6. Miami, 659
7. Pitt, 636
8. NC State, 550
9. Louisville, 518
10. Notre Dame, 462
11. Syracuse, 454
12. Georgia Tech, 433
13. SMU, 344
14. Virginia Tech, 252
15. Florida State, 251
16. California, 206
17. Stanford, 165
18. Boston College, 116
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1
Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41
Nijel Pack, Miami, 37
Second Team
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20
Players Mentioned
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